. >> reporter: jonathan rogers sat on the ramp for two hours. >> new york city is right there. you want to reach out and grab it. >> reporter: in all, more than 1,200 delays yesterday blamed on the shortage of controllers, another 1,400 delayed by weather and other issues. a job that literally keeps the nation's economy and its people moving caught in a budget stalemate. of the roughly 15,000 air traffic controllers, 10% are off the job each day. 1,500 not at their stations. >> i don't think that it's fair that air traffic control, particularly air traffic controllers, are being used as a pawn. >> reporter: there's no shortage of people who are angry about it, but so far congress hasn't acted to fix the problem. the man whose job it is to keep the nation's skies safe says it's an outrage. >> sequester is a bad idea, a dumb idea. it's not a way that any person would do their own budget. it's a meat ax approach, and it should be changed. it can be changed. >> reporter: in denver today, proof that the delays can worsen with volatile springtime weather. while the faa says fewer con